


Friday's Child

by Turntechgodliness (AmberzillaRex)



Series: Monday's Child Series [3]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other, Past Child Abuse, Running Away, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2020-11-08 16:23:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20838497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberzillaRex/pseuds/Turntechgodliness
Summary: Carlos has left Auradon.Scared of controlling his friends, afraid of the people who claimed to want to help him, he fled Auradon and made himself a life far away from everything his friends had tried to make for him. Things are well. No one knows him.But Jay and Gil are determined to find him and return him home.(Last installment of the Wednesday's Child trilogy.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo here's Friday's Child! It's been a while, right? Musicals took over my soul, sorry guys. But I'm back!

Camelot Heights sat high in the northeastern hills of Auradon, the Pendragon castle looming over the town of Camelot and seen from any direction for miles like a beacon to the small, old kingdom. A large forest spread south of Camelot itself, leading into Sherwood Forest to peter out towards the town of Locksley. North of Camelot sat Mim’s Gulch, and at the edge of the river that ran through the gulch sat a small cottage. It had been abandoned for years, as far as Carlos had been able to sus out, though in the past few months he had been able to repair it to a point where he had set up a nice little area for himself. It was far enough outside of Camelot that no one questioned his being there, and far enough away from Auradon that he felt the others wouldn’t be able to find him. 

He spent most of his time repairing things for the people of Camelot, quickly gaining a reputation as a repairman and a hermit amongst the people who utilized his services. He only offered Diego as his name- fairly certain that no one would recognize him well enough to connect the dots that he was living under his cousin’s name. He was surprisingly happy with the little life he’d managed to carve out for himself, free of his mother and the worry that he was controlling his friends. He missed them, of course- after everything, after the whole disaster that was…well, everything so far in his life, really, he did miss them. 

“Diego? Are you home?” He startled slightly at the knock on his door, the soft voice drifting through his open window as he glanced towards it. Setting down the screen he’d been mending for a farmer, he sighed as he moved to open the door, staring at the girl standing before him. 

“Mavis. Shouldn’t you be in school right now?” The girl shrugged, leaning to peer into the small cottage as Carlos rolled his eyes at her. 

“No? If I was supposed to be in school right now, I’d be there, right? What are you doing? Are you doing work? Come out to the creek with me.” Carlos huffed, shifting slightly to block the doorway as the Mavis attempted to enter the cottage. 

“I’m pretty sure you skip school all the time, Mavis. And yes, I’m trying to do work, not that it ever matters to you. Your father’s going to come looking for you as soon as the school realizes you aren’t there, you know that right?” Mavis rolled her eyes, leaning in the doorway as she glared at him. Carlos had grown accustomed to the blonde girl appearing at random to bother him- she had no qualms about asking him questions about his mysterious past, none of which he ever answered. 

“Dad can go suck an egg, school’s boring Diego. You don’t go to school.” She gave him a look, and he sighed, moving to exit the cottage. 

“Because I’ve already completed my schooling and stuff. That’s why I moved here, remember? To find work because I was out of school? Ring a bell?” She shrugged, looking disappointed as he locked the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you to school. I have to go into town anyway.” He gestured for her to start walking and she sighed heavily, shoving her hands into the pockets of her skirt as she let him lead the way. 

“Your life is just so much more interesting than anything they could teach me at school, you know? And dad won’t let me do anything fun, I’m always stuck either in classes or in political meetings with him and it’s boring. Don’t you want me to be less bored?” Carlos snorted, shaking his head a little. 

“I’m pretty sure my life’s pretty boring, actually, and you really should be paying attention to the things your dad wants you to learn, Princess. Why don’t you ask him for something fun for you to do while you’re doing lessons? Like...didn’t you want to do combat training and stuff with Gawaine? I’m sure your dad would let you if you asked him.” She shrugged, picking at the hem of her skirt as they started towards the town.

“He doesn’t want me to get caught up in learning to be a knight before I learn politics. It’s always ‘No Mavis you can’t just hit someone if you disagree with them’ or ‘what if they want you to figure out a famine crisis, Mavis’. It’s never ‘what do you want to do today, Mavis?’ It’s like he doesn’t even care about what I want.” She pouted, and Carlos frowned at her words. He knew the king loved his daughter- from the few interactions he’d had with both, he could easily see that Arthur doted on the girl. 

“He just wants what’s best for you, Mavis. You should...you should talk to him. He loves you a lot.” She frowned, turning to look at him as she walked the road backward. 

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Diego! He’s so controlling!” Carlos shivered, his mind darting to his mother, her tight fingered grip on his arm as she dragged him around, her sharp slap and bitter words. 

“He’s really not that bad...trust me.” Something in his tone caused Mavis to pause, wide eyes watching Carlos as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped past her. “Be thankful that he cares about you enough to want you to be the best you that you can be, alright?” She gave a nod, and Carlos gestured towards the large stone building looming before them. “You should get to class.” She nodded again, and he offered her a small smile. “Just...trust me. You’re dad’s a good person who only wants the best for you. Okay?” 

“...yeah. Okay. I justs...it’s frustrating, you know?” He didn’t; Cruella never wanted to make him into a better person. Obviously. She’d never taken an interest in trying to guide him or help him, or anything that Arthur seemed to do- just abuse, torture, and negligence. 

“Uh. Yeah. Totally.” He gave a half-hearted smile, waving as she made her way into the school before slumping, running a hand through his now black hair. “Evil, these USA kids have weird issues.” He muttered, turning to continue walking into the inner market of the town. He liked Camelot- not too technologically advanced, with most of the buildings simple wood and stone made, but with enough technology around that he could get his hands on parts, things to fiddle with to keep his mind sharp. The dirt and stone roads made him think of the Isle, though much cleaner and well made, with a certain sort of olden design in mind as far as he could discern from talking to the townspeople. Everything was simple, easy, natural in the town; Carlos was pleased with the dark browns and greys that build the colour palette of the town, as opposed to Auradon’s almost blindingly bright aesthetic. It felt as much like home as he figured he’d get. 

“Diego? My boy, I didn’t expect to see you in town today!” Carlos jumped at the sudden voice behind him, and he turned to look at the man standing behind him. 

“Oh, hello Merlin. I, er, wasn’t expecting to come into town today? Mavis showed up at my place and I figured I should bring her back to school, maybe pick up some groceries. How are you?” He liked Merlin- the old man seemed to have the ability to know when Carlos was getting overwhelmed, or when to steer a conversation in another direction. He often asked Carlos to help him in his workshop, getting him to help gather potion ingredients and take dictation for spells and magical theory…

Carlos couldn’t help but think of how happy Mal would be in his place. 

“Ah, I’m fine, my boy. Just fine. And I’m not surprised that Mavis skipped out of classes today, she handles arguments with her father the same way Arthur use to handle ones with his own. I have some shopping to do myself, why don’t you accompany me? I’d like to talk to you.” Carlos raised his brow but nodded, moving to walk with the elderly man as they started down the road again. 

“Of course, Merlin. What can I do for you?” He still wasn’t used to the idea of people talking to him just to talk- usually, people wanted something when they went out of their way to converse with him. Merlin chuckled, reaching to lightly pat Carlos’ shoulder and not commenting on the small flinch the action caused. 

“Just keep an old man company, that’s all. Not everyone who talks to you wants something; in fact, some people wish to simply help you instead, Carlos.” Carlos nodded before his eyes widened and he stilled at Merlin’s words. 

“I...my name is Diego, Merlin. Are you alright?” Merlin chuckled, reaching to grasp a few strands of Carlos’ hair with a smile. 

“It takes more than a little hair dye and some makeup to hide your freckles to disguise yourself from me, my boy. You aren’t in trouble, and I’m not about to hand you over to your friends...the ones who are desperately seeking you out. I simply wish to know why you’re hiding in Camelot when you have several people who seem to care very much about you returning to Auradon?” Carlos frowned, sinking into himself at the question. 

“I...it’s personal. Why haven’t you turned me in yet? How long have you known?” He knew that there was a reward for his safe return to Auradon. Knew that if most people knew who he was they’d probably turn him in to get the monetary prize returning him would bring. There was no real reason for Merlin not to turn him in, really. 

“Dear child, no one in Camelot has any desire to turn you in. We’ve known for months who you really were...at least, the adults in town have. You’re a very smart boy, Carlos, but you don’t always see what’s right in front of you. You help the people here...and you clearly ran for a reason. No one is seeking you out for a crime done, so why would we send you back to a place you clearly have no interest in being? We’re a simple town. There are a lot of people here just looking to live their lives.” Carlos stared at him, confusion written on his face as he contemplated the man’s words. 

“You...don’t want the reward money?” He asked, not understanding. Merlin chuckled, shaking his head. 

“No. What I would like is your assistance in the lab today, if you have nothing else to do.” Carlos raised a brow and Merlin offered a shrug. “You’re much more precise than Arthur ever was.” Carlos frowned, giving Merlin a side-eye as they continued to walk.

“I...suppose I could do that. You’re certain this isn’t an elaborate plot to turn me in?” Merlin snorted, waving his hand at him.

“That is far too much effort for this old man, Carlos. Besides, you’re from the Isle.” He leveled him with a look, more serious than Carlos had seen the old man yet. “I doubt we’d be able to turn you in without you disappearing on us.” It was true- Carlos had several well-plotted escape routes already in place from nearly every part of Camelot, including hidden bags full of things he might need if he had to run. He was prepared to drop everything at the first sign of any of his friends catching on to where he was.

“You’re right. I would be out of here before you could even contact them.” He nodded, shifting on his heels and taking the basket that Merlin was holding from him. “So...I’m prepared. Keep that in mind. And a light sleeper.” Merlin nodded, gesturing towards the castle. 

“Of course. Now, Diego...shall we?” Carlos shrugged, then gave a nod. 

“Yeah. Let’s go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2, raw and unedited. Anyone still reading this?

It’d been two months. Two months of trying to find leads, of searching towns and villages around Auradon to try and find some sort of hint that Carlos hadn’t disappeared off the face of the planet. Halfway through the first month of staying in inns under the Kings name had found them slipping back into old habits from the Isle and by the time they had thoroughly searched through South and East Riding as well as the Summerlands they had gone, as Evie had stated in almost despair during their last phone call, completely native Isler. The others had pleaded with them to return at the beginning of the second month. Ben had offered to send out men, but Jay had refused, citing that he and Gil were still the best options for finding the missing teen. 

“Do you think he might have made it up to Camelot Heights, Jay?” They had stopped at a tavern just outside of the Enchanted Wood, taking some time to have lunch and restock some things in their travel packs while they tried to figure out their next move. Gil tapped his fork on the side of his plate, frowning as he waited for Jay to offer a response to his question. 

“He could have. I was thinking that it might be too obvious, since it’s so far north and has like...no technology, but that’d make sense that he’d hide out there. I don't really know anyone who lives there- Ben doesn't have a whole lot of dealings with them, their king can be sort of cranky I guess? Something about a feud with King Adam and him being stubborn?- so we won't have an inside contact like everywhere else we've been if we go check it out. " Not that he was too worried about anything happening; while Camelot Heights was a bit more rough-and-tumble than Auradon, it was still a part of the United States of Auradon. Technically. Jay wasn't sure the last time anyone besides Merlin had left the place for any reason other than merchant trade, to be honest, at least from the information he'd been able to gather from Ben. 

"Well that's okay, it's not like we need to have a contact on the inside. We're not like…. Doing a sneak attack or something. We're just looking for a friend." Gil offered, shoveling a few forkfuls of food into his mouth before swallowing noisily. "Besides, every town we go to makes a big deal about us being there, which would totally just make him know we're there and make it easier for him to hide from us." he frowned at that--he didn't like the idea of Carlos actively avoiding them, like they were his mother come to find him. It sat heavy in his chest, like he'd inhaled water in his lungs, and he hated it. 

" Yeah, I don't know what it is with people here. It's like the word discretion doesn't exist or something." Jay complained, leaning on his arm and he finished his last bit of food. Gil shrugged, reaching for his cup of juice-juice, not Ale, like he'd wanted and asked for three times--to take a sip. 

"They' ve never needed to keep things under wraps here. Or, not for like….ages. They probably got comfortable and forgot that not everyone wants their presence announced and stuff. They probably also do it to like….warn people we're here. People might like you in Auradon, but you're still an Isler, Jay." Jay frowned as Gil downed the rest of his drink, glancing around the room. People were watching them-not as subtle as they probably assumed they were, with their side eyes and peeking over their papers to watch them. People in Auradon were always just a little on edge around them, even if they tried to come across as accepting of them. It was something he’d grown use to, barely even noticing it anymore whenever he and the girls were out with Ben. 

“True. Though, I have no idea if the people of Camelot Heights even care about us?” Jay shrugged as their bill was placed on the table, and he placed the money down before nodding to Gil. “All done?” Gil nodded, moving to get up, and Jay followed him out into the street. “Alright. So. We’ll head towards Camelot Heights, keep to the flatlands maybe, off the main road?” Gil pulled out the map they’d been using, unfolding it and holding for them both to look at. 

“We could head along this area here...Mim’s Gulch?” He frowned, looking at Jay. “What’s a gulch?” Jay shrugged, and Gil hummed. “Can’t be too hard to go through, there’s a traders path right through it. And it takes you into the backside of the kingdom, so it might be easier for us to get in unseen?”Jay nodded, following the line of the path with his finger. 

“Seems easy enough to me. We can cross the border here, that’s about two hours north east from here?” He glanced around, frowning some. “We should pick up some more supplies while we’re here, who knows what they have in Camelot Heights. Ben says it’s pretty like...low tech and stuff, so it could be the closest we come to the Isle in Auradon.” Gil snorted, folding the map again to tuck in his knapsack. 

“Nothing in Auradon will ever be close to the Isle, Jay. Getting around here is super easy. Can you imagine if we were trying to do this back home?” Jay couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of them just walking through territories, out in the open and barely armed.

“Evil no. As soon as we crossed a border unarmed and in the open, we’d be taken down immediately, are you kidding me? It’s nice that we can walk around without constantly having to be on edge, but it’s...weird, right?” Gil nodded, and Jay ran a hand through his hair with another chuckle. “Evie doesn’t get why it’s so weird for me and Mal, but she never really had to deal with territory wars and stuff up there in her big old castle. But you get it, yeah?” Gil grinned, nodding. 

“Yeah. It’s like...kinda like walking into my house every day. It felt safe, but only like…..like the sort of safe you get before a real big storm hits. Y’know?” Jay nodded, starting towards the closest shop they could get supplies in as Gil trailed behind him, fiddling with the strap of his bag. “Do you think he’s gunna be mad when we find him? He did run away. Usually that means he doesn’t want to be found.” Gil’s voice was soft as they entered the shop, and Jay turned to give him a look before starting to gather what they might need. 

“I mean...he might be. Carlos doesn’t exactly trust people easily, we both know that. And he’s probably scared. Especially after everything that happened with Ben right before he left?” He frowned; Ben had told them what had happened, and after some research they had learned about the Jade Ring and it’s effects on people. Jay had immediately recognized the ring from the picture as the one Carlos wore, and though he had no idea why the other teen hadn’t simply removed the ring after finding out about it, he assumed that the was some reason he hadn’t. 

Or, he supposed, Carlos could have removed it by now. He couldn’t know.

“I kinda of want him to be happy to see us.” Gil admitted, watching as Jay grabbed a few bottles of water and some easy to eat things as they made their way around the store. “Is that bad? Like...I know he ran away from us but I just...want him to miss us you know?” Jay grabbed a large, heavy duty sleeping bag and a two person popup tent, handing them to Gil to carry to the register. 

“No, I get it. I want him to be happy to see us too. But I’m not gunna get my hopes up.” He paid for their things, taking them outside to rearrange their bags to hold their new items while Gil watched. “Alright. Ithink we’re set, you wanna head out?” Gil nodded, and the two started out of town, hoping that their next stop would lead to at the very least some information about Carlos.

+++++

“So I just trim it here?” 

Carlos frowned as he angled the trimmers against the stem of the flower he was working on, glancing up at Merlin as he spoke. The elder man glanced up from the pile of flower heads he was sorting through to the flower in question, eyeing Carlos’ hand before giving him a nod. 

“Yes, there’s fine. You’ve read every book I have about this process, dear boy, I don’t know why you’re even bothering to ask me.” Carlos made a face, making the snip and placing the flower head in the bowl before him before cleaning up his area. “In fact, I think you’ve caught on much quicker than any other apprentice I’ve had. Did you ever work with Yen Sid, on the Isle?” The question caught him off-guard, and he stilled as he looked up at the wizard. 

“I. Uh. I used to help sometimes, after classes were out.” Talking about the Isle was still weird- knowing that Merlin knew, that nearly all of Camelot Heights knew who he was and where he was from, quite frankly was unnerving. It threw him off that the people around him were willing to hide him the way they apparently had been the months he’d been there, and he didn’t know how to react to discussing his life on the Isle like they were discussing the weather. “We couldn’t really grow anything on the Isle, not really. Sometimes we’d get half dead plants, and I’d try to bring them around enough to get something out of them...I made Cruella a lot of dead flower teas growing up. Had to learn to do things properly or else…”He trailed off, shrugging some. Merlin gave a nod, gesturing to the next potted plant, and Carlos pulled it towards him. 

“Well, I’m more than happy to teach you the proper ways to prepare ingredients, Carlos. It’s nice to have such a willing student, frankly.” Carlos snorted, cheeks flushing as Merlin gave him an amused look. “Yes, Arthur had little actual interest in learning...well. Anything actually useful. He’s very much a hit and go sort of bloke.” Carlos gave a small nod, not sure if it would be considered insulting to the king if he fully agreed, and started to trim the leaves from the plant. “You, though, you’re a smart boy. You pick things up quickly, I barely have to teach you a thing.” Merlin admitted as he started to prepare what Carlos recognized as the poultices used throughout the town, “Honestly, I think you’d probably be a magnificent wizard if you wanted. A little less whimsy and a bit more anal than most, but a good, strong head on your shoulders. A belief in the magic of science is always a good foundation, my boy, for any sort of magical training after all.” Carlos frowned, a bit surprised at the words- if he were honest, he was surprised that Merlin would let him anywhere near anything related to magic, knowing who he was. 

“I’ve...never really thought about magic much, honestly.” He carefully clipped the last leaf they’d need, setting the neat pile to the side before pulling a pile of dried flowers towards him. “I’m removing the petals on these, right?” Merlin nodded, and Carlos started, picking up a dried violet to carefully pull the petals from. “Magic isn’t really something Cruella let me even think about, back before. Evie was always all about potions and stuff, and Mal was crazy about spells, obviously, but I was always more interested in, uh, survival.” He frowned as he started to pile the petals carefully before setting aside the remaining part and taking the next flower head. 

“But now that you are thinking about it, what are your thoughts?”Merlin’s voice was gentle, even as he tied up the little bundle he’d been working on to start anew, and Carlos chewed his lip as he considered the question. 

“It’s...useful, I suppose. Ilike the science behind it, the...I guess technical work behind all the potions and stuff? Your magic books are much less...uh. Whimsical, I guess, than the stuff I’ve seen before. It feels more real?” He hoped he hadn’t just somehow insulted the man; he held at least some respect for Merlin, as strange as the man was, and had no intention of hurting his feelings with his opinion on the art of magic. He was pleased when Merlin simply laughed, patting Carlos’ hand as he handed over the next pile of petals. 

“I wish Arthur felt that way! He’s always calling my work whimsical, yet whenever he needs something it’s ‘Merlin, magic me up this’ or ‘Merlin, I need a potion for that’. You’d think he’d have a little more respect for what I do, after all these years.” Carlos grinned, taking the next dried flower head to work on as they chatted. 

“Well, if it helps I think he really does respect you. He constantly is asking for your opinion on things, right? That means he trusts you. He knows you have valuable information.” It was common practice on the Isle to have a right hand person, after all- the one person you could have the illusion of trust with, who would watch your back when you were in the middle of a fight. He supposed the closest he’d had to that was Jay or Gil…

He hadn’t let himself think about either boy in weeks. 

A part of him felt awful about leaving the way he had. He knew Gil had probably been distressed to discover him missing, and he could only imagine Evie, Mal and Jay’s reactions to finding out he was gone. The part that felt bad was squashed down when he considered that he left to protect them, to keep whatever magic Cruella’s cursed ring pulled from him away from them. Along with the fact that he still felt a little bit of betrayal from them, it made staying in Camelot Heights a lot easier than he had expected.

“Carlos? Are you alright, my boy?” Carlos blinked, looking up at Merlin and offering him a small smile as he realized he’d zoned out, staring at the flower in his hand. 

“Yeah, I’m...I’m okay. Sorry. Just...thinking. So, what do all of these flowers and stuff do in potions?” Merlin smiled at him, pulling Carlos closer to his side as he opened a book with flowers etched into the leather cover. 

“Let’s start with the roses, then, shall we? There are many uses for the Rosa gallica var. officinalis…..”


End file.
